Scholar General Build Guide

The Scholar is the newest Nightfarer introduced in the Nightreign DLC, and brings a completely different rhythm to runs. While his core toolkit leans toward tactical support, the Scholar is far from a passive backliner. When used correctly, he becomes a scaling powerhouse capable of shredding bosses with enhanced consumables and battlefield-wide debuffs.

Relics

The best Relics for the Scholar by far, are the ones you get from his remembrance quests. Another great option is the Dark Night of The Miasma which adds very good early game damage for your starting armament. You can replace the latter with other relics if you want.

The selection of relics are listed in priority. If you go with relics that are dropped or gambled, you need to make sure it has at least 2 of the listed relic effects below.

Weapon Passives

For Weapon Passives, we focus on either getting Improved Throwing Pots (20%) or Improved Damage Negation at Full HP (+40%). Throwing pots are capable of dealing large amounts of burst damage with this Nightfarer, so improving its damage with weapon passives is ideal.

Another great option is Attacks Inflict Rot (+30) or Attacks Inflict Poison (+30) as the Scholar is able to apply status much more quickly than other Nightfarers.

Ailments

As the Scholar has an S scaling in Arcane, he is one of the best Nightfarers for applying debuffs on enemies. The best ailments you should be looking to utilize are Frostbite, Scarlet Rot, and Poison.

Situationally Sleep and Madness can be very good as well, depending on the enemy you are facing.

Talisman

The best talismans by far are the Ritual Shield Talisman and Companion Jar because they complement his playstyle super well.

Any other talismans that increase his survivability are also very good options.

Weapons

When finding weapons for the Scholar, focus on finding weapons with a high Arcane scaling or any weapon that can apply status effects.

One of the best weapon options is the Antspur Rapier as you gain the advantages of the Scholar's unique moveset with thrusting swords, and it is able to apply Scarlet Rot innately and can sometimes be found with the additional ability to apply Poison or other status effects in the Deep of Night mode.

Other great options include weapons like Morgott's Cursed Sword, Regalia Of Eochaid, and Eleonora's Poleblade which have very powerful skills and scale well with Arcane which is his highest scaling attribute.

Skills/Spells

The best skills or spells for the Scholar are anything that applies a buff to your team, like Golden Vow, Blessing Of The Erdtree, and Flame Grant Me Strength, or anything that applies debuffs to the enemy, such as Chilling Mist or Poisonous Mist.

Consumables

The best consumables for the Scholar are Throwing Pots. These are easily obtainable during any run and are capable of dealing large amounts of burst damage to bosses.

As throwing pots come in multiple affinities, the best option is to select the affinity that the Night Lord is weakest to and solely using that type of pot to increase its damage as much as possible.

Day 1

Your priorities for the Scholar during your run are to Level Up, collect and use as many throwing pots as possible, find a good weapon, and increase your flask charges. For your pathing, there are a couple of options depending on if there is a Shifting Earth on the map or not, but Day 1 should always be the same.

Throughout the run, make sure to stop by as many churches as possible to maximize the amount of healing flasks you have. Also, make sure to utilize your throwing pots and restock at any merchants you happen to pass by.

First, you will want to raid the camp you spawn next to and level up to 2. Then make your way to the nearest Cathedral as these locations guarantee a Stonesword Key as a drop from a chest somewhere in the location. Afterward, make your way to the nearest Evergaol and clear it to increase your rune acquisition.

After that is cleared, you will want to make your way to the Central Castle in order to clear it. It's best to start from the basement, as the boss located there is isolated and will drop you rare loot and give you access to a chest that guarantees a talisman drop once you have defeated them.

Then, proceed to make your way up to the castle roof, clearing as many enemies as possible along the way. Once you're there, do your best to kill the boss there and then make your way to the final circle location. Make sure to visit any churches, camps, or field bosses that can be completed quickly on your way to the Night Boss.

If you are on pace, you should be at least level 10 by the start of Day 2.

Day 2

On Day 2, your options are to either clear out the Shifting Earth or defeat as many Field Bosses as possible.

If there is a Shifting Earth, the best option is always to spend the entirety of day 2 clearing it out, as the rewards you gain for clearing it are always powerful, and the first circle will always close in on this location.

If there is no Shifting Earth present, then your best bet is to run around the map and kill as many high-level field bosses as possible. This is the fastest way to earn runes and gain rare weapons and dormant powers at the same time.

Day 3

As this is the last stage before the Night Lord, make sure to level up as much as possible and stock up on throwing pots, which can be purchased from the merchant. If you're in a call with your teammates and they have some extra runes and item space, get them to purchase some more throwing pots and drop them to you once you're in the boss arena.

The Scholar’s defining mechanic is his Passive Ability: Bagcraft, which allows him to store additional resources and increases the damage of consumables the more he uses them. Each consumable, Fire Pot, Lightning Pot, Freezing Pot, and others, levels independently, meaning the Scholar rewards consistency. Committing to a single consumable type early turns your pot of choice into a devastating DPS tool for the Night Lord and Night Bosses. As long as you’re consistently restocking and throwing the same type throughout the run, the Scholar’s damage becomes both reliable and surprisingly high.

Where he truly separates himself from other Nightfarers, however, is his Character Skill: Analyze. By studying enemies and allies in his field of vision, the Scholar applies debuffs to foes and buffs to teammates. Because this action sheaths your weapons, proper timing is essential; use Analyze when you’re not targeted or when your positioning creates natural safety. The closer you stand to the target, the faster the scan completes, and multiple entities can be marked at once, letting you set up advantageous fights before they begin.

His Ultimate Art: Communion turns encounters into controlled chaos. When activated, all enemies and allies within range become linked: any damage dealt to one enemy is shared equally across all linked targets, and healing on any ally is mirrored to the entire party. This allows the Scholar to multiply the value of burst damage, consumable throws, and team-wide sustain, especially in multi-enemy encounters or boss phases with adds.

Together, these tools make the Scholar one of the most versatile and team-oriented characters in Nightreign. This build guide focuses on creating a general-purpose Scholar setup that works in any expedition, emphasizes consistent consumable scaling, and leverages his unique utility to control fights, support allies, and deliver boss-melting damage when it matters most.